Blue Beetle #1-5
Originally released in 1967
Written by Steve Ditko and D.C. Glanzman
Art by Steve Ditko
I looked into the New Gods books because I wanted to get an idea of what Jack Kirby's writing was like without the involvement of Stan Lee, and today, I'm doing the same sort of thing with Steve Ditko. After leaving Marvel in 1966, Ditko worked at Charlton Comics, which was later bought out by DC. While he worked there, he reinvented the Blue Beetle - originally a magic-based hero named Dan Garret, Ditko gave him a successor in the form of Ted Kord, an engineer who couldn't use the mystical scarab, so instead, he built his own gadgets.
Ted has some similarities to Spider-Man, especially when he's unmasked. In addition to physical similarities, he's athletic, a skilled scientist, and a wise-cracker. He had been helping his uncle, Jarvis Kord, and was unknowingly responsible for improving killer robots that Jarvis planned to use to take over the world. Dan Garret interfered, but seemingly died in the process, and Ted took up his mantle.
The book also features the Question, a newscaster named Vic Sage who uses a mask that, when coated with a special gas, changes the colour of his hair and clothes while turning his face completely blank. I've read that Steve Ditko had a tendency to insert his politics into his work, and the Question seems like an example of that, especially as the series goes on.
In the first year of the Amazing Spider-Man, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko gave readers some outstanding villains - the Chameleon, the Vulture, Doctor Octopus, the Sandman, the Lizard, Electro... and that's just in the first twelve issues. Unfortunately, the rogues gallery of the Question and the Blue Beetle comes nowhere near close to living up to that caliber. The most prominent villain that Ted Kord faces in these five issues is a group called the Madmen. Much to my disappointment, these aren't overgrown Oompa Loompas like I first thought, but ordinary mobsters in garish clothing. (The Question doesn't even get that much)
In an interesting choice, Ted reveals his secret identity almost immediately, even if it's just to his girlfriend Tracey. I'm not sure how important she winds up being (she doesn't have an article on the DC wiki from what I can tell, so I'm guessing she's not very important), but it makes for a nice change given how many heroes keep their identities secret from their loved ones even if there's no reason to.
The five issues that I covered here are the entire extent of the series, as it ended on the fifth issue. The first four issues were all right; I generally preferred the Blue Beetle stories over the Question ones. (due to his secretive nature and his known involvement with Dan Garret, Ted Kord is a suspect in Garret's murder, and one police lieutenant named Mike Fisher is determined to uncover the truth) As a result, it doesn't get much time to get an extended story going - there's a brief moment where it seems like Dan Garret is still alive, but that's seemingly resolved at the end of issue 4.
In issue five, things go off the rails. I'm assuming that Steve Ditko was aware that the series was ending, because the entire final issue seems like it's dedicated to telling everyone about the philosophy that Ditko follows. (which, by my understanding, is inspired by the works of Ayn Rand) Characters have long, winding monologues where they seem to serve as mouthpieces for or against Ditko's point of view, with the ones who are against it invariably being the antagonists.
I don't know much about philosophy, and I'm not sure how much I can gather of it just from reading these comics. Concepts like earning what you have through hard work and struggle seem fine, but the comic also treats ideas like "helping the poor", "having emotional responses," "groups of people have rights", or "some problems are too big for one man to solve" as sources of evil. (Ditko also hates hippies and protesters)
The closest thing to an overarching villain that this book has is an art critic named Boris Ebar, whose criticism of art inspires a villain in the Blue Beetle story of issue 5, along with Ebar himself being a villain in the Question's story in the same issue.
It comes across as extremely preachy, and not even remotely subtle. By the end, it starts to read like a philosophy textbook with some loosely-related images surrounding it. Needless to say, I wasn't a fan of the last issue. (though Ted gets a good character moment towards the end)
With Kirby's solo work, I could see elements shared with his run on the Fantastic Four, and why a character like the Silver Surfer was so important to him. With Ditko's work here, I could see some elements of Spider-Man (with the Blue Beetle, at least), but by the end, I was glad that Stan Lee handled the writing - I don't think Spider-Man would have been nearly as relatable or likeable if Ditko had control over the writing as well.
There are some interesting elements in here; when it seems like Dan Garret is alive, Ted contemplates quitting his identity as the Blue Beetle, reasoning that there can't be two of them. (something that seems funny given how many Flashes, Spider-people, etc. there are nowadays) It would have been nice to see something like Dan approving of Ted taking on the role and either retiring or acting as the Blue Beetle in another city, though I don't know if that would have aligned with Ditko's philosophies. It just doesn't live up to its potential, though, between the series' short length and lack of memorable characters outside of the heroes.
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